U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey issued the following statement in reaction to American forces killing Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization:

“Qasem Soleimani was responsible for the murder of hundreds of Americans. The world is a better place now that he is dead. Every American should be grateful to our armed forces who carried out this strike with incredible skill and precision. The Trump administration was right to restore deterrence against Iran.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released the following statement on the death of Soleimani:

“Qasem Soleimani, leader of Iran’s Quds force, is directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American servicemen and servicewomen. Soleimani perpetuated the Iranian regime’s destabilizing proxy wars across the Middle East and carried out numerous terrorist attacks on behalf of Iran — the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. According to the defense department, Soleimani was imminently plotting even more attacks on American servicemen and servicewomen, and therefore the air strike was needed to protect our American soldiers, diplomats and civilians serving in critical missions in the region. Iran’s attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, their mounting aggression against the United States in the region and their direct and imminent threats to Americans serving in critical missions abroad cannot be ignored.” ••